This is no news flash, but
plastics don't biodegrade. And yet almost 50% of it never sees a landfill.
Worse, approximately 80% of the plastic debris in our oceans comes from the
land. Plastics inevitably become part of our ecosystem from top to bottom. Of
course, we think of the most pure environments as those in the highest
mountaintops. The springs percolate into the headwaters on our mountain peaks, cascade
down, hopping rocks and tumbling through forests into lakes, eventually
emerging into larger rivers and ultimately out into the oceans. Along the way
human influence affects their purity. Generally, we have hypothesized that water
starts pure and becomes more polluted with each tier of drainage but recent
research suggests that we are not starting with as clean a slate as we thought.

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Researchers have recently found
an alarming number of microplastics in Lake Garda, a subalpine lake located in
the Adamello-Presanella Mountains, a part of the Italian Alps. The
microplastics found in Lake Garda were a surprise because of its elevation;
researchers had anticipated pure unpolluted waters.

Microplastics,
small pieces of plastic, typically less than 5 millimeters (0.2 inches) in size
come from a variety of man-made sources. Some of it is produced when large
pieces of plastic breakdown in the environment. Other types come from synthetic
fibers broken down from clothing, other consumer and personal care products as
well as construction materials.

Researchers led by Christian
Laforsch of the University of Bayreuth in Germany conducted the Lake Garda study
and found the numbers of microplastic particles in sediment samples from Lake
Garda were similar to those found in studies of marine beach sediments.
Laforsch said, "The mere existence of microplastic particles in a
subalpine headwater suggests an even higher relevance of plastic particles in
lowland waters." Ingestion into the food chain is likely to blame.

"Next to mechanical
impairments of swallowed plastics mistaken as food, many plastic-associated
chemicals have been shown to be carcinogenic, endocrine-disrupting, or acutely
toxic," said Laforsch. "Moreover, the polymers can adsorb toxic
hydrophobic organic pollutants and transport these compounds to otherwise less
polluted habitats. Along this line, plastic debris can act as vector for alien
species and diseases."

Half a world away other microplastic
studies are being conducted on the Great Lakes. Sherri Mason, Associate
Professor of Chemistry at the State University of New York (SUNY) is measuring
the incidence of microplastics in the Great Lakes. Initial studies on Lakes
Superior, Huron and Erie were completed in 2012. The remaining two, Lakes Ontario
and Michigan will be complete this year.
The highest number of microplastic particles so far has been found in
Lake Erie where more than 600,000 pieces per square
kilometer were found in parts of the lake.

Because
microplastics are not biodegradable, they persist in the environment for many
years. When entrapped within the sediment they are likely to persist for
decades. Clearing the pollution is likely to be expensive and difficult.

Regardless of
which body of water is being tested though, all of the contributing scientists
are concerned that ingested microplastics may impair the ability of organisms
to feed, leading to disruptions in aquatic food webs. Additionally, microplastics
are likely to play a role in the transfer of chemical contaminants into aquatic
biota affecting all of the world's ocean and watersheds.